Packel, Laura; Dow, William H.; de Walque, Damien; Isdahl, Zachary; Majura, Albert
Description:
Information, education, communication
and interventions based on behavioral-change communication
have had success in increasing the awareness of HIV. But
these strategies alone have been less successful in changing
risky sexual behavior. This paper addresses this issue by
exploring the link between action and the intention to
change behaviors. In Africa, uncertainty in the lives of
those at risk for HIV may affect how intentions are formed.
Characterize this uncertainty by understanding the reasons
for discrepancies between intentions and actions may help
improve the design of HIV-prevention interventions. Based on
an incentives-based HIV prevention trial in Tanzania, the
longitudinal dataset in this paper allows the exploration of
intended strategies for changing sexual behaviors and their
results. The authors find that gender, intervention groups
and new positive diagnoses of sexually transmitted
infections can significantly predict the link between intent
and action. The paper examines potential mediators of these relationships.